Gates of Hell

The sky was black, the sea dark. Turbid waves rolled beneath the storm's driving force, swelling into towering walls that reached the heavens and spanned sea and sky.

In the deepest darkness, enormous serpents seemed to thrash and flood dragons to rise from the water.

Vast, savage shapes loomed faintly into view.

Countless mermaids shrieked with excitement, shouting and waving their arms as they witnessed the destruction their Holy Lord had bestowed.

The earth-shaking tsunami cast everything into shadow. For one instant, darkness swallowed Luo Island whole.

And in that instant, a tiny glimmer appeared at Ji Jue's fingertip.

Small as it was, it suddenly swelled at an unimaginable speed, growing in a heartbeat to the terrifying size of a blazing sun.

Then the sun's radiance collapsed inward, contracting back into a single point.

Another violent expansion began!

Expansion, contraction, expansion, contraction... Nine cycles in a single breath.

Inconceivably fast.

With it came the wail of the Spiritual Substance Reserve. Before Lou Feng's eyes, countless distribution circuits burned out, unable to bear the load.

Enough Spiritual Substance to sustain Luo Island for decades vanished in an instant. Its reserves fell by a third!

Such a violent draw and expenditure

took place in so brief an instant that the tsunami had not advanced even a foot.

Ji Jue casually pointed forward.

Before the dark tide spanning sea and sky, a flickering speck of light drifted away on the wind.

It swayed and stumbled like a drunk, tracing a crooked arc through the air.

It seemed slow, yet was anything but. With each flicker, it appeared several kilometers farther ahead.

It was so dim, yet at that moment, everything between heaven and earth became its backdrop.

Silently, it sank into the surging sea.

And vanished.

Everything vanished!

The earth-shaking tide and the